SMSACE6

the cabin I had with my parents was a cabin for three.  Three single beds, arranged haphazardly, three port hole windows, and it was located just behind, a few steps down the hall behind Sven's ice cream parlor.  down a ways, turned right, and down a short walk way to our cabin and another next to us, and across from us.  Loved the room, best cruise ship I have ever had.  Have done one Celebrity, and 8 Carnival after that first cruise, and though some of them were comfy beds, the Norway's was the best!

I loved that ship.  My first cruise was on the Norway, in 1999.  I loved the promenade, and club internationale.  And so much more.  Loved the dining room, and the food on board in general was very good.  Room was comfortable and I remember sleeping like a baby in that bed.  The ship would rock gently at night.  I was so sad when the ship came to such a sad end.  But I just try to keep my fond memories of that classic ocean liner, and so glad I took that cruise.

what a great live review!  Loved it, loved seeing some places that I saw long ago, and many new places that I may never see in person.  Thanks for taking us along on your wonderful journey!

nice review, love the photos.  Liberty is still my favorite cruise ship, (though I dont have a huge number of cruises like some) lol.

will look forward to reading more review, and see more photos of my favorite ship.  thanks for posting.

hopefully, OP did have some form of travel insurance, especially given the child's health issues.  and if they did not then I echo other posters concerns and remarks.  It is not actually up to the cruise line  or airline, given the circumstance to erase their rules just because there are extenuating circumstances.  this is why we should always purchase travel insurance for the unforseen, and also read those contracts and know what we are covered for and not.  I admit to being negligent with this in the past, but have never had to make a claim. 

sorry to OP for your situation, but in future do your homework before cruise or travel, and know what you can and cannot claim.

Hope you can finally, get some peace with this situation, and however it results, just go with a learning situation.  know in the future what kind of insurance to have in place.  wish you OP some peace with your decision.

33 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Buffet lunch for buffet lunch people

 

 

the cakes look good to me, but i am sure some are not as good as they look, but glad the black forest one is good, that would be my choice.  as for the the buffet , i would be passing on the goat. sorry, dont like lamb and dont like goat. just me though, i am sure some folks do.

for some time now, I have not been able to travel due to family needs at home, so this ongoing situation with illness, has given me reason to say to myself, now is not the time to travel, so I have another reason to not travel.  maybe doesnt make sense to some, but for me, it works right now for me.  But for other people who want to travel and are fearful, I say "this too shall pass".  may take some time, but it will.

Carnival ships anchor well out from shore there and tender in to Belize, so there may be nothing particularly out of character here.  Dont know though of course, but may not be something to be concerned about yet.

yahoo me too!

I have never had a problem getting a two top solo.  the first night you go, tell them you want to dine alone, and it wont be a problem.  I usually went just shortly after opening or 6pm, and no later than 6.30pm, never had a wait.  not sure how it is later in the evening though as I usually dont eat late.  Also, if you get a good wait team, you can request the same team next night, and usually also not a problem to get their section with a solo table.  Enjoy your cruise.

there was a time when I was upset by previous changes in the loyalty program, ie when gold were no longer able to go to the past guest party.  Now I really dont care anymore.  I am at 54 days, and still gold, will take me at least 7 more cruises of 7 days or so to reach platinum at which time, that level could be greatly reduced in perks.  So I really no longer care about the levels anymore, especially since I travel less and less now.  I will more than likely do another Carnival cruise as I have always enjoyed them, but whether I am red, gold or platinum, means nothing to me now. Just me though, I understand that others who travel, cruise often will feel different about it.

enjoying your review.  I love the places you are visiting.  When I was younger, and travelled a lot, I made many trips to Las Vegas, loved it there, and travelled beyond the city, loved the area in general, also always enjoyed California, including various areas of Los Angeles and surroundings.  

I still am not in a position to travel, but when ever I can, I will be revisiting those places and also love Hawaii, so will likely do all in one fell swoop LOL. might as well, if I am half way to Hawaii when I visit California, might as wall carry on. 

Looking forward to more of your review.  Have a blast!

I will be following your review and enjoying as always.  Have tons of fun!, so I can live vicariously through your review 🙂

2 hours ago, coevan said:

I do, we serve them, they are not Vegan

I am rapidly approaching becoming vegetarian, but doubt I will ever be vegan or want to be, but just curious, how are the Garden Burgers not vegan, what is it that makes them not vegan? thanks for any clarification.

LOL, sounds familiar name, but I have not been there.  Lots of good Chinese restaurants here though. 

On 2/7/2020 at 5:24 PM, auntjoy036 said:

SMSACE6, I traveled solo on the Equinox last summer.  I had select dining in the MDR and had no trouble getting a table for one.  I went relatively early in the evening, before the busiest time.  The host seated me at a nice table near a window.  As I left that night I asked if I could have that table the rest of the week.  The host booked my reservation and I stayed in the same spot with the same servers all week.  Some nights I chatted with the folks at neighboring tables.  Some nights we nodded and did no more.  

 

Have a great trip.

thanks for this, I tend to like early dining best anyway.

thanks Pinboy!  LOL, Yes I know that stare all too well!

Thanks Jelayne, that would work for me either way.

On 2/3/2020 at 8:04 PM, Ukigirl said:

I’m amused by some of the dumb things people have said to me when they found out I’m taking a solo cruise. I’m happily married, hubby and I have gone on at least a dozen cruises so I’m very comfortable with RCL ships. Because of his work schedule he has limited vacation days , most of those will be used for a back to back in November but my office will be closed for a couple weeks in March.  I brought up the idea of my bucket list which includes a solo cruise and he has no problem with me going.  I’m an introvert, love alone time so looking forward to being a big girl by flying to Fort Lauderdale, staying overnight and getting on that ship all by myself (been married for 32 years). Just want to chill by the pool with my books, eat when I want to and basically do whatever I want and this a big deal for me.  If I want to talk to other people I will, if I don’t then that’s just fine too. Well, told some members of my family and friends and got so many comments, everything from “aren’t you scared for your safety “, “what are people on the ship going to think when they see you by yourself “, “you will be eating alone?” and my absolute favorite “is everything ok with your marriage??”  I’ve read a lot of threads on Solo cruises, I’m a smart woman who can take care of myself and yet I still can’t believe those comments. Yeah should have kept my mouth shut. Sorry for the long rant 🙄

I understand your rant UKgirl.  I have had similar remarks from families and friends, even though I have been travelling solo since my late teenage years.  I have always been able to look after myself, I sometimes like to meet others and sometimes like to rest and relax alone.  Still, today, I at over 60 years of age, I get the same remarks from some.  I find it very insulting, and consider it to be a form of discrimination.  I wish people would just get on with their own silly lives and leave us alone who prefer to do things different from them.  But I know there are many other worse discriminations in life today.

So rant away, and I will rant with you LOL.  You are not alone in your rant.

If I cruise solo, and do select dining, is it possible to get a table by myself?  I don't mind waiting a bit, but I just don't like having to be at dining room every night same time, and as a solo, don't really like to be seated with different people every night, having to repeat over and over where I come from, what I do or did for a living and all that stuff that I prefer to keep to myself.

So is it relatively easy to get a solo table with select dining? thanks.

I think those red, gold, platinum etc deals are over hyped.  I really don't think I ever got a better deal being, red or gold.  I would just find the cruise you are really wanting to take and scout whatever deals there are, and make a choice just based on what ship, itinerary, port of departure etc you prefer.  The VIFP deals are really not not that great in my opinion.  But any deal, reduction of course is good, so just check out all options.   Also, whether you get better deals through Carnival or not, is variable.  Sometimes with TA you get some on board credit, so check out all options, but go with the cruise, and or ship you want once you find your best deal.  If time permits, shop around.

reciprocity would be nice on Carnival corp owned lines, but would not affect me at all.  Even though I started cruising with Carnival in 2000, I am still at lowly gold level, and that after eight cruises with them.  For me I love cruising, but also love other types of travel, and land based trips, as well as the cost  of a cruise for me , solo, plus air fare is quite hefty, so I find other types of travel more cost friendly.  All said, as far as rewards go, especially with Carnival, even if they opened it up to be of use with their other lines, it would not matter to me, because I have already decided that if and when I cruise again, it will be likely be with Celebrity or MSC.  Just where I am right now.  Of course things can change, as well as my plans LOL. But that is how I feel at this time.

On a 6 or 7 day cruise I usually eat dinner in the buffet at least once or twice.  Sometimes like OP, just don't see anything on the dining room menu that is that appealing, or just want to "eat and run", LOL.  I agree with others who say, the dining experience in the buffet is not near a good as in the MDR, but just some days we don't want to go.  When I do go to the buffet, I tend to do the same as lunch buffet, I like salad bar and bread and butter.  Food wise, I tend to stay away from things with gravy, just because I don't like that sort of thing in general, and is just me.  I always find enough on the buffet  to satisfy me,  and I will still tend to try to go to MDR when I can or want to, but buffet will always have enough to keep me satisfied otherwise.

while I have never been on this class of ship, I have learned over the years that I prefer the smaller size ships, and have read and enjoyed many reviews on this site and others of this class of ship.  I will say that, if and when I can ever get back to cruising on ships again, I would love to do one on this class of ship, especially now that Legend is sailing out of Tampa, which is a cruise port that I would like to sail out of again. I have not been on a larger ship of Carnival than Conquest class, and might consider Dream class ships, but I doubt that I would like anything larger. This just my opinion, and I know everyone has their own likes and dislikes.

I think it is a personal thing.  Leave daily gratuities in place, so behind the scenes people get their reward, but also you can give extra in cash to those who you feel have gone over and above those daily gratuities amounts.  

For me that would most always be a dining service team who go above and beyond to make my dining experience perfect, or a room steward who just leaves nothing unattended, or done, or who is not accessible.  Also, from time to time, I have had an exceptional bar server in a certain venue who impresses me, as well as one in the casino who is also above and beyond in service. For those who have exceeded my expectations, I always have an extra cash gratuity on the last evening, and I bring my own envelopes, with a brief note expressing my thanks, plus a little extra cash.  I am not in a position to leave a lot of extra cash, but I have always found that a little as 5.00 or 10.00 cash US, is always gratefully accepted.

there have also been times on other cruise lines, where, while the job was done, there was nothing over and above, so those did not get an extra cash tip at end of cruise.  But I always leave my auto gratuities in place. therefore, I don't have to feel, someone is left out, and all workers are covered. Just me.